About Us
The Landi Company has been based at Burghley House since 1992. The workshops are located in the historic courtyards in converted stables and outbuildings, and have been designed as flexible workspaces with environmental control and monitoring. Both studios have excellent on-site 24/7 security. As part of the Burghley Conservation and Restoration group, The Landi Company is one of several conservation studios based at Burghley.
Melinda Hey
Director and Textile Conservator
Melinda obtained her MA Conservation of Cultural Heritage from the University of Lincoln, focusing her dissertation research on the use of gels in textile conservation. Melinda also holds a degree in Fine Art Embroidery from the Manchester Metropolitan University. She has worked with institutions such as The National Trust, The Higgins Bedford and local Cambridgeshire museums. Melinda was part of the Doddington Hall Tapestry Conservation project, and she is currently Vice-Chair of the Icon Private Practice Group.
Louise Shewry
Director and Textile Conservator
Louise worked as an international textile designer for ten years, before undertaking the MA Conservation of Cultural Heritage from the University of Lincoln. A keen interest in collections care and management saw Louise lead a preliminary trial with parasitoid wasps at Burghley House to tackle a webbing clothes moth outbreak, which she used as the basis of her postgraduate research. She also holds an M A in Textiles from the Royal College of Art and is currently Secretary of the Icon Textile Group.
Kelly Grimshaw
Director and Textile Conservator
Kelly is a graduate of the MA Conservation of Cultural Heritage programme from the University of Lincoln, where she specialised in textiles. She has undertaken several short-term contracts in textile conservation studios across the UK, as well as overseas. Kelly has a keen interest in tapestries, and since working at The Landi Company has specialised in tapestry conservation. She is currently Secretary of the Icon Private Practice Group and is on the Icon Accreditation pathway.
Sheila Landi
Company Founder
1929 – 2024
Sheila work at the V&A from 1963 to 1989, becoming Head of Section in 1972. She played a key role in conservation development within the museum, and in the wider establishment of the profession. Upon her retirement, Sheila continued to work in private practice establishing The Landi Company at Burghley in 1992. She was a fellow of IIC and an Accredited Member of BAFRA, as well as being the author of The Textile’s Conservator Manual.
